Afghanistan

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times Ministers have visited Afghanistan in the past 12 months to see (a) the work of Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and (b) development projects; how much time they spent examining development projects; and what steps they took to publicise such visits to development projects.

Lord Brett: Details of ministerial travel, including the purpose of visits, is published annually. Information for previous years is available in the House Library and on the Cabinet Office website http://www.cabinetoffice. gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/ministers/travel_gifts .aspx.
	Information for the current year will be published as soon as it is available. Details on specific programmes and steps taken to publicise each visit are not centrally held. To provide additional information would incur disproportionate costs.

Agriculture: Dairy Farms

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the levels of (a) imports, and (b) exports, for United Kingdom dairy industry products for each year from 2003 to 2009.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Answer to the Question is given in the tables below. The latest information available is up to October 2009.
	
		
			 Table 1 
			 UK trade in liquid drinking milk (pasteurised or UHT), 2003 to Oct 2009 
			 Million litres 
			  2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Jan to Oct 2009 (Prov) 
			 Exports 193 251 485 512 423 457 377 
			 Imports 37 55 47 84 88 134 75 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2 
			 UK trade in milk products, 2003 to Oct 2009 
			   2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Jan to Oct 2009 (Prov) 
			 Exports Butter 44 35 45 36 32 24 22 
			  Cheese 90 93 96 104 97 88 87 
			  Condensed Milk 20 18 4 6 6 3 4 
			  Cream 114 81 93 94 78 62 51 
			  Milk powders 173 186 102 96 105 98 60 
			 Imports Butter 118 114 129 147 103 81 74 
			  Cheese 316 335 353 378 403 422 342 
			  Condensed Milk 20 25 33 45 41 39 31 
			  Cream 15 15 30 37 43 55 54 
			  Milk powders 45 68 78 51 61 66 67 
		
	
	Source: HMRC

Agriculture: Dairy Farms

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (a) dairy farmers, and (b) dairy cows, there were in each year from 2000 to 2009.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Changes in the number of farmers and dairy cows are just two elements of the structural changes that have taken place in the sector. The long-term trend in dairy production is towards fewer, larger and more productive herds. The table below provides the fuller picture on the structural changes in the sector and shows how the decline in the number of dairy farms and farmers has been offset by an increase in average herd size and milk yields.
	The number of principal farmers on dairy holdings is not yet available for 2009, so the most recent data cover up to 2008. The 2009 data will be released in March 2010.
	The decrease in the numbers of dairy farmers in England between 2000 and 2008 (-26 per cent) is less than the fall in the number of holdings with dairy cows between 2000 and 2009 (-36 per cent). This reflects a rise in the average number of farmers per farm over the period as the average farm size has increased.
	However, the number of dairy cows has decreased by less (-24 per cent), reflecting a rise in the average herd size.
	
		
			  Number of dairy farms  No farmers (a) on dairy holdings  Number of dairy cows (thousands)  
			  (b) (c) (b) (c) (b) (c) 
			 2000  15,219  31,418  1,576 
			 2001  14,293  30,178  1,490 
			 2002  14,537  30,425  1,462 
			 2003  13,770  28,918  1,435 
			 2004  13,264  28,057  1,374 
			 2005  12,918  26,168  1,311 
			 2006 11,522 11,079 22,483 25,706 1,259 1,290 
			 2007 10,907  21,082  1,236  
			 2008 10,331  20,122  1,199  
			 2009 9,805 -- -- -- 1,163  
			 % change between 2000 and 2009(e)  -36%  -26%  -24% 
		
	
	-- not yet available
	(a) Farmers are defined as principal farmers, partners, directors and spouses if working on the holding.
	(b) Sourced from the Cattle Tracing System (CTS). Defined as the number of holdings on 1 June each year with more than 10 dairy cows in the milking herd. CTS became the main source of cattle data from 2006 onwards. Results prior to this were sourced from the June Survey of Agriculture but are not directly comparable.
	(c) Sourced from the June Survey of Agriculture. Defined as the number of holdings with dairy as the predominant farming activity.

Agriculture: Dairy Farms

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they hold statistics on the market value of female dairy animals sold in English livestock markets.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Statistics on the market value of dairy animals sold in English livestock markets are held by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. These statistics are provided to Defra on a monthly basis, split into 13 categories by age and pedigree or non-pedigree status. The information is then published on the Defra website at https://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/amr/default.asp.

Agriculture: Wildlife

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are considering to ensure that farmers preserve and enhance wildlife on their land.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Many of our wildlife species and best habitat sites are already protected by legislation, and individuals should be free to manage wildlife within the law with government intervening only when necessary.
	The Government provide funding (£2.9 billion) to farmers and land managers through agri-environment schemes under the Rural Development Programme for England for the effective environmental management of land to meet scheme objectives including conservation of wildlife (biodiversity).
	Environmental stewardship, in particular entry level stewardship (which covers more than 5 million hectares), is the main delivery mechanism for promotion of farmland bird recovery, including as part of the campaign for the farmed environment to recapture the benefits of former set-aside. Higher-level stewardship is a major deliverer for achieving favourable condition of sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs).
	Recommendations from a review of progress of environmental stewardship have been incorporated into the scheme in time for the first renewals of entry-level stewardship; more than 26,000 agreements expire in 2010-11. A new training and information programme to assist farmers in targeting options appropriately on their land and ensuring best environmental practice is due to commence in February.

Armed Forces: Health

Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the 16,000 service personnel deemed unfit for battle are overweight.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given in the other place by my honourable friend the Minister for Veterans on 14 December 2009, (Official Report, Commons, col. 820W) in response to a Question by the honourable Member for Portsmouth South (Mr Hancock).

Armed Forces: Senior Staff

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what active service each of the 47 senior officers of the ranks of Vice-Admiral, Lieutenant-General, Air Marshal and above have been involved in.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: All officers that reach the ranks of Vice-Admiral, Lieutenant-General, Air Marshal and above have undertaken a number of challenging, demanding and varied roles both within an operational environment and in direct support of it.
	In addition, all will have undertaken postgraduate training through the Defence Academy and will have attended the advanced staff course. Furthermore, many will have also attended the Royal College of Defence Studies, involving close engagement with current international issues. To determine which training each officer received would require a manual search of personal records incurring a disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Senior Staff

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many senior officers of the ranks of Vice-Admiral, Lieutenant-General, Air Marshal and above there were in (a) 1945, (b) 1960, (c) 1970, (d) 1980 and (e) 1990.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Information on the number of Vice-Admirals, Lieutenant-Generals, Air Marshals and above for the years requested is not held as a management information system report. The following table has been reproduced from entries made in the Navy List, the Army List and the Air Force List for the respective years.
	
		
			 Year No. of Officers 
			 Total Naval Service Army Royal Air Force 
			 1945 112 36 62 14 
			 1960 79 30 29 20 
			 1970 56 23 23 20 
			 1980 57 19 17 21 
			 1990 51 17 18 16

Aviation: Air Traffic Control

Lord Fearn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have regarding air traffic control.

Lord Adonis: On 8 December the Government published the Operational Efficiency Programme: Asset Portfolio.
	The portfolio includes a section on NATS which notes that, in light of the impending expiry of the restrictions on the transfer of shares for NATS, it is appropriate for the Government to engage with other shareholders who are likely to consider the shareholding options available to them.
	No decision has been made by the Government with regard to reducing their shareholding. Any options considered would be required to best meet the needs of the company and its workforce, as well as of shareholders.

Aviation: Air Traffic Control

Lord Fearn: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the 20-year European Union plan to improve air traffic controls is still in place; and, if so, what stage it is at.

Lord Adonis: The single European sky initiative was first launched in 1999 and is still in place. The first package of measures under the initiative has led to the separation of service provision from regulation to improve the interoperability of air traffic control equipment, as well as common approaches to the certification of service providers and to the charging of users in this field.
	A second package of measures was agreed by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament on 4 December 2009 to reinvigorate the initiative. This will see the introduction of a Europe-wide performance scheme to incentivise better air traffic management by 2012 and better co-ordinated management of the network. It also imposes a deadline of 2012 for the introduction of functional airspace blocs within which groups of EU member states will co-ordinate their air traffic management. The UK and Ireland have led the way in this area, concluding the first functional airspace bloc in July 2008.
	SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) is the single European sky project to develop the technology needed to modernise air traffic management across Europe. It was launched on 12 July 2009 as a partnership between the European Commission, Eurocontrol (the intergovernmental organisation for air traffic control in Europe) and 15 industry partners, including NATS and a consortium that includes BAA amongst its membership.

Aviation: Security

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what responsibility they have for the security of flights coming to the United Kingdom from JFK airport in New York; what assessment they have made of security checks on passengers and hand luggage at JFK airport for flights coming to the United Kingdom; and what assessment they have made of security checks, including scanning of shoes, at JFK airport on staff going airside to United Kingdom-bound flights.

Lord Adonis: The security of flights inbound to the United Kingdom is subject to the principle of host state responsibility, under which each state is responsible for the security of flights departing from its territory. This is governed by international law as set down by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The responsibility for aviation security at JFK is therefore a matter for the US.
	UK aviation security officials visited JFK airport last year to observe the security afforded to UK airline operations. It would not be appropriate, for obvious reasons, to comment further on the security measures in place.

Banking: European Central Bank

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the United Kingdom will be required to make a contribution to the cost of building a proposed new headquarters for the European Central Bank in Frankfurt.

Lord Myners: No. The European Central Bank will finance the cost of the new headquarters from its own funds.

Banking: Iceland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Myners on 13 January (WA 154), what were the criteria used to decide that all Icesave retail depositors with the United Kingdom branch of Landsbanki should have their deposits returned in full; what was the cost of doing so; what legal powers were used to do so; and whether they are likely to recover that money.

Lord Myners: Under the EU banking consolidation directive, firms with permission in their home EEA states to perform deposit-taking activities may establish branches in the UK. However, in order to exercise this passport right, a firm must have satisfied the conditions set out in Schedule 3 to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. These conditions include the requirement for the FSA to have received a consent notice from the firm's home regulator that it has given consent for the firm to establish a branch in the UK. Landsbanki satisfied these conditions and exercised its passport right to establish a branch in the UK, where it carried on deposit-taking business.
	The EC deposit guarantee schemes directive (94/19/EC) sets the minimum terms on which depositors are protected throughout the European Union and European Economic Area (EEA). All EEA member states are required to ensure that the deposit guarantee schemes directive is adequately implemented in their territories.
	Under the directive, depositors at branches in a host state are covered by the guarantee scheme of the home state. Depositors with the UK branch of Landsbanki were therefore eligible for compensation (for deposits up to €20,887) from Iceland's Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund (DIGF).
	Where a bank's home state scheme provides a lower limit of compensation than the UK FSCS, or the scope of protection is less than the FSCS's, the bank may choose to join the FSCS to top up the level of protection offered by the home state scheme.
	Landsbanki chose to exercise this top-up option, meaning that depositors with the UK branch are protected to the FSCS limit per depositor and therefore may claim from the FSCS for the amount of their deposits above the DIGF limit to £50,000 (the FSCS limit).
	Landsbanki, the Icelandic bank, is authorised and regulated by the financial services regulator in Iceland. Landsbanki's UK branch is subject to limited regulation by the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA).
	On 8 October 2008 the FSA announced that the UK branch of Landsbanki was in default for the purposes of the FSCS. The Chancellor announced that all retail depositors with the UK branch of Landsbanki would receive their money in full. The Government's objectives in taking action in relation to the UK branch of Landsbanki were to maintain financial stability and to minimise the exposure of, and costs to, taxpayers.
	In total, around £4.5 billion has been paid. It is estimated that this includes £2.35 billion compensation that the UK Government paid out to depositors on behalf of the Iceland Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund (DIGF), £1.4 billion paid out by the FSCS for deposits above €20,887 and below £50,000, and £800 million paid out by the UK Government in respect of deposits above £50,000.
	In guaranteeing UK retail depositors of the Icelandic banks, the Treasury acted under its common law powers. The statutory authority for the Treasury to incur this expenditure was provided by Section 228 of the Banking Act 2009 (retrospectively).
	We expect that the FSCS and HM Treasury will make significant recoveries of the compensation paid to depositors through the winding up of Landsbanki. In relation to the compensation paid out on behalf of the DIGF, on 5 June 2009, the UK Government reached agreement with the Icelandic authorities on a process to ensure the UK is refunded. The terms of the loan arrangements are set out in my letter to the House of 13 January (WA 154). They include a state guarantee which, under Icelandic law, must be authorised by the Icelandic Parliament in order to take effect.
	A Bill was passed in August to this effect but with a number of conditions introduced by the Icelandic Parliament. Following further negotiations, the loan agreement was amended to take account of these conditions. On 30 December, the Parliament in Iceland endorsed the loan arrangement and agreed a state guarantee. However, on 5 January 2010 the Icelandic President announced that he would not sign the Bill that the Parliament had approved, and instead proposed a referendum. A referendum has been scheduled for 6 March 2010.
	The UK Government have received assurances from the Icelandic Government that they remain committed to meeting their legal obligations under EEA law and intend to repay the loan in full.

Banks: Taxes

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider introducing taxes similar to a capital levy on banks in receipt of public money, similar to the proposals of the Government of the United States.

Lord Myners: The United States has announced a levy to recoup $117 billion that it expects to lose from interventions under the troubled asset relief programme. We believe that UK losses from banking sector interventions will be minimal at worst. The need for a similar levy therefore does not apply. The UK is, however, leading a global debate on how to ensure that banks, not taxpayers, support the financial sector in respect of any future emergencies.

Benefits: Attendance Allowance

Lord Lipsey: To ask Her Majesty's Government in the last year for which figures are available, how much in total was paid to recipients of attendance allowance who first received the allowance in that year.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: £183 million was paid to new recipients of attendance allowance in 2008-09 who had not previously received the benefit in the past six years.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will introduce a compensation scheme for bovine tuberculosis which varies payments according to the value of cattle.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Compensation for cattle affected by bovine tuberculosis (TB) in England is determined each month, primarily using table valuations based on contemporaneous sales prices. The 47 different cattle categories are based on the animal's age, gender, type (dairy or beef), and status (pedigree or non-pedigree).
	A judicial review of the compensation system accepted Defra's submission that the true value of any animal affected by TB is the salvage value of its carcass, and there are no plans to introduce any substantial changes to the current system.

Carers: Tax

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are considering introducing tax breaks for long-term carers with definite commitments.

Lord Myners: The Government keep all areas of tax policy under review. At the 2009 Pre-Budget Report, the Government announced an improvement in the tax arrangements for carers looking after vulnerable individuals under a qualifying "shared lives" scheme (also known as adult placement carers). From 6 April 2010, shared lives carers will receive a tax-free allowance for their caring income similar to the current foster care relief.
	The Government also took action to ensure, from the date of the Pre-Budget Report, that there is no loss of capital gains tax private residence relief where adult placement carers use part of their home exclusively for the accommodation of an adult in care.
	In addition, to help carers balance work with caring responsibilities, the Building Britain's Recovery White Paper (published in December 2009) announced that the Government will carry out a consultation on how we can help individuals meet their caring responsibilities while remaining in employment. It also announced raising the earnings limit within the carer's allowance from £95 a week to £100 a week to increase work incentives for carers.
	The Government also published a revised national carers strategy in June 2008. Key components of the new strategy will ensure that carers have increased choice and control, and are empowered to have a life outside caring. They are investing over £255 million to ensure that the new strategy is implemented.

Crime: Suspicious Activity Reports

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 16 December 2009 (WA 16), what steps are taken to ensure that persons subject to suspicious activity reports (SARs) made anonymously or by unknown persons are checked before the SARs are recorded on the Elmer database of the Serious Organised Crime Agency; and how they will ensure that anonymous SARs which may have been made maliciously do not result in individuals being entered on to the Elmer database.

Lord West of Spithead: All suspicious activity reports received by the Serious Organised Crime Agency are recorded on the Elmer database. SOCA does not take steps to establish whether an unknown or anonymous reporter's suspicions are unfounded before the information is recorded on Elmer. A SAR can be used in combination with other sources of intelligence to contribute towards a particular law enforcement investigation. If a SAR had been submitted maliciously, this fact would become apparent in the course of an investigation, when the information was cross-checked with other forms of intelligence.
	In these circumstances, and where a SAR is submitted electronically, the relevant local enforcement agency can attach an appropriate flag to the SAR to indicate no further action. Procedures on the handling of SARs may be revised depending on the outcome and recommendations of the forthcoming Information Commissioner's review.

Crime: Suspicious Activity Reports

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will continue to allow local authorities direct access to the Elmer database of the Serious Organised Crime Agency; and what guidance has been given to local authorities about the purposes for which they should access Elmer.

Lord West of Spithead: No local authority has direct access to the Elmer database. However, accredited financial investigators at some local authorities have access through terminals housed in local police units. The Serious Organised Crime Agency provides guidance material to users and all users are required to attend training delivered by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) or SOCA before accessing the database.
	Future access to Elmer by local authorities and other potential end users will be subject to review in 2010, as indicated in the action plan in the SARs annual report 2009.

Crown Dependencies

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the form and financial equivalent of the current annual voluntary contribution each of the Crown Dependencies makes to the costs of their defence and international representation by the United Kingdom.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government through what procedures the size and shape of the voluntary contributions each of the Crown Dependencies makes to the costs of their defence and international representation by the United Kingdom are agreed.

Lord Myners: The UK is responsible for the defence and international relations of the Crown Dependencies, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Jersey and Guernsey surrender hereditary revenues of the Crown to the Consolidated Fund in accordance with the Jersey and Guernsey (Financial Provisions) Act 1947. The last such payment from Jersey was for an amount of £225,000 in November 2008 and the last payment from Guernsey was an amount of £7,910,000 in February 2003.
	The Isle of Man makes contributions in accordance with the Contribution Agreement 1994. The most recent contribution was £2,559,278.55, made in February 2009. The amount is initially calculated by the chief accountant of the Isle of Man Government Treasury Department, and then agreed with the UK Government.

Democratic Republic of Congo

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the numbers displaced by the conflict in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo; and what assessment they have made of the capacity of the United Nations agencies, including peace-keeping forces, to respond.

Lord Brett: The United Nations (UN) estimates that over 1.5 million people are currently displaced as a result of the conflict in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). There are approximately 2 million internally displaced people across the DRC.
	The Government consider the UN's capacity to respond, including that of the peacekeeping force, to be reasonable. Major loss of life due to displacement has been averted.

Disabled People: Leonard Cheshire Report

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to Leonard Cheshire Disability's report Disability and the downturn; and what action they will take on its findings.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The department welcomes the report and is aware of the difficulties that disabled people may face in a recession. The Minister for Disabled People met with Leonard Cheshire on 19 January to discuss the report and its annual review. However, the department will not be publishing a formal response to the report.
	We believe no one should be left behind on benefits or in poverty. We have a range of programmes designed to help disabled people overcome barriers and obstacles and move into and retain employment. Pathways to Work is available to everyone claiming incapacity benefits and employment and support allowance in Great Britain, and we have a range of specialist provision, including Access to Work, for those with greater needs.

Education: NEETs

Baroness Verma: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action has been taken to reduce the number of persons not in education, employment or training (NEETs); and what steps they have taken to re-engage those young people who are in the NEETs category.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The Government have taken decisive steps to strengthen existing provision and put in place new support to reduce the proportion of young people who are not in education, employment or training. In December 2009, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Work and Pensions jointly published Investing in Potential, our strategy to increase the proportion of 16-24 year-olds in education, employment or training.
	Through the September guarantee, we offer all 16 and 17 year-olds a suitable place in learning. In 2009, almost 96 per cent of 16 year-olds and almost 90 per cent of 17 year-olds said that they wanted to continue in learning and received a suitable offer through the guarantee. We are building on this with a January guarantee in 2010, which will offer all 16 and 17 year- olds who are not in education, employment or training this month a place in entry-to-employment provision.
	We will invest a total of £8.2 billion in 2010-11 to fund learning for 1.6 million young people, the highest ever number of young people participating in education and training in our country's history, and we will increase 16-19 funding by 0.9 per cent in real terms in 2011-12 and 2012-13 to continue our commitment to the September guarantee. We are also investing more than £650 million in 2009-10 in financial support for 16-18 year-olds, including education maintenance allowance, care to learn and discretionary learner support funds, to help young people overcome financial barriers to participation.
	Through our 14-19 reform programme, we are transforming the range of qualifications on offer to ensure that there are options available to suit every young person's needs.
	Apprenticeships are one of these key routes and we are creating an additional 35,000 apprenticeship places in 2009-10, including 21,000 in the public sector. By March 2010, the National Apprenticeship Service will provide 5,000 subsidies to employers to support them to take on 16 and 17 year-olds as apprentices.
	The young person's guarantee will ensure that 18-24 year-olds still unemployed after six months will be guaranteed access to a job, training or work experience. This will be supported by more time with their personal adviser.
	We are widening participation in higher education to ensure that all those with the potential and merit to benefit are able and willing to do so. We have created the Graduate Talent Pool, which has offered over 12,000 vacancies for graduate internships since its launch at the end of July 2009. For those new graduates who cannot find work, the graduate guarantee ensures that those still unemployed at six months will have access to an internship, training or help to become self-employed.
	Together, these measures represent a clear and substantial offer of support that will continue to prevent young people becoming NEETs and help those who are not in education, employment or training to re-engage.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Thornton on 14 January (WA 170-1) regarding multiple inquiries from the media about the use of eggs under research licence R0152, what specific information was sought from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's press office, rather than requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and what were the details of each response provided to those requests at the time.

Baroness Thornton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that its press office receives hundreds of queries every year, a large number of which are over the telephone, and it is not, therefore, possible to put together a comprehensive record of the information requested by the noble Lord.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the reply by the Minister of State for the Department of Health, Gillian Merron, on 12 January (Official Report, Commons, col. 552), why there is to be an internal governance review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's performance instead of an externally led inquiry.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the reply by the Minister of State for the Department of Health, Gillian Merron, on 12 January (Official Report, Commons, col. 552), what arrangements are in place to ensure that all appropriate information will be provided to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's internal governance review.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a full copy of the documents regarding the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority faxed to the office of the Minister of State for the Department of Health, Gillian Merron, by Dr Evan Harris on 12 January.

Baroness Thornton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it determined it unnecessary for the review to be undertaken by an external person. The purpose of the review is to assess the adequacy of the Authority's revised governance arrangements in relation to the threshold between administrative enforcement of its powers and the sphere of criminal law. The HFEA consider this internal review to be the right way to look critically at what happened and to ensure changes made since then, to its processes and procedures, provide it with adequate governance arrangements.
	The senior officer undertaking the review has devoted many months to reviewing the extensive documentation held by the HFEA. The senior officer will shortly contact those involved inviting them to contribute.
	A copy of the HFEA internal memo provided to the office of the Minister for Public Health by Dr. Evan Harris MP on 12 January 2010 has been placed in the Library.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the reply by the Minister of State for the Department of Health, Gillian Merron, on 12 January (HC Deb, col. 552), what was the cost to public funds of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's investigations of Dr Mohamed Taranissi's Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre; what was the outcome of those investigations; in what capacity were any staff of the Authority involved in the inquiry subsequently employed by the Department of Health; and whether individuals associated with the inquiry had their salaries reduced as a result.

Baroness Thornton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it understands that by the term "investigations" resulting in costs to public funds, the noble Lord is referring to the settlements paid to Mr Mohamed Taranissi in relation to two judicial reviews. The first involved the quashing of a warrant and the second involved setting aside a Licence Committee decision. Those costs totalled approximately £770,000.
	In 2006, the HFEA had concerns that Mr Taranissi was not complying with the statutory regulatory scheme that all licensed clinics in the United Kingdom have to follow. A number of outcomes followed, including legal challenges and a protracted licensing process. Mr Taranissi was granted a new three-year licence for the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre in April 2009 and was offered a new one-year licence for the Reproductive Genetics Institute on 5 January 2010.
	One member of HFEA staff subsequently went on secondment to the Department of Health from 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008, and subsequently completed a one-month's fixed term appointment with the department from 1 October to 28 October. Both the secondment and the fixed term appointment were in the role of Director of Public Health Performance and Delivery.
	No individual's salaries were reduced as a result of the inquiry. Information on HFEA salaries is outlined in its annual report and accounts, which have already been placed in the Library.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of each document in file CPO 2/10-David Alton Bill to reduce time limit on abortion to 18 weeks, held by the Department of Health.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of each document in file CPO 2/10-David Alton Bill to reduce time limit on abortion in other countries, held by the Department of Health.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of each document in file CPO 2/22 S OF S AND PS(H) Meeting With David Alton 04/12/1991, and Follow Up Papers, held by the Department of Health.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of each document in file CPO 2/23 S OF S Meeting With David Alton Feb 1996 And Follow Up Papers, held by the Department of Health.

Baroness Thornton: It is an established convention that Ministers of one Administration cannot see the documents of a previous Administration. I am therefore unable to provide the information requested.

Eritrea

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the €122 million allocated by the European Development Fund for Eritrea for 2009-2013 will be spent.

Lord Brett: The European Commission's support for Eritrea between 2009 and 2013 will help the Eritrean people reduce poverty and improve their prospects for economic and social progress. Projects will focus on improving food security (€70 million), rehabilitating infrastructure (€34 million), and strengthening governance (€10 million). The remaining funds will be earmarked for programmes to preserve the national heritage, support non-state actors and establish a Technical and Cooperation Facility.

Finance: Lending

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will take action against companies seeking to induce consumers to incur excessive interest charges on short-term loans agreed over the internet.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: I will write to the noble Lord and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Food: Trans Fats

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will introduce measures to eradicate artificial trans-fatty acids from the British diet, as recommended by the Faculty of Public Health and the Royal Society for Public Health.

Baroness Thornton: The Government notes the reports by the Faculty of Public Health and the Royal Society for Public Health regarding the banning of artificial trans fats from foods.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) carried out a comprehensive review of the health impacts of trans fats in 2007, and reported that voluntary action taken by the food industry to reduce the levels of trans fats in foods in the United Kingdom has been successful in achieving the reduction in dietary intakes to 1 per cent of food energy. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) recommends that trans fats should contribute no more than 2 per cent. of food energy. Given this, the Government believe that further action including legislation would be unlikely to deliver any additional health benefit. The FSA continues to monitor the intakes of trans fats.
	The FSA is currently focussing effort on reducing intakes of saturated fat where there is clear evidence that the UK population is consuming more than public health recommendations, which increases the risk of coronary heart disease.

Gary McKinnon

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government in the light of the decision of Mr Justice Mitting on 13 January 2010 to allow an application for judicial review of the Home Secretary's decision on the extradition of Mr Gary McKinnon, whether they will initiate a debate on the floor of the House on this case.

Lord West of Spithead: As this case is before the courts it would not be appropriate to hold a debate on it in Parliament.

Genetics and Insurance

Lord Walton of Detchant: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the recommendations of the UK Forum for Genetics and Insurance report on the genetics and insurance moratorium; and whether there will be a period after the potential end of the moratorium during which individuals who have taken a specific genetic test will not have the result of that test taken into account by insurers.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will discuss with the Association of British Insurers whether a special life insurance scheme can be developed for individuals with highly predictive adverse genetic results.

Baroness Thornton: The Government will consider these matters when they undertake their scheduled review of the concordat and moratorium on genetics and insurance in 2011. This and other reports will inform the Government and the Association of British Insurers when considering a long-term agreement about the use of genetic test results for insurance purposes.

Government Departments: Bonuses

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government for each of the last three years for which figures are available, how many people were eligible for performance bonuses and special bonuses in the Department for International Development and its agencies, by Civil Service band; how many people received each type of bonus, by Civil Service band; what the average payment was for each type of bonus, by Civil Service band; and what the maximum payment was for each type of bonus, by Civil Service band.

Lord Brett: Department for International Development (DfID) Senior Civil Service (SCS) members are eligible for a non-consolidated performance award. Awards are intended to reward delivery of personal business objectives during the reporting year or other short-term personal contributions to wider organisational objectives. In considering SCS members for an award, line managers are asked to take into account:
	performance against agreed priority business objectives or targets;total delivery record over the year;relative stretch (ie the challenge of the job compared to that of others); andresponse to unforeseen events that affected the performance agreement.
	Awards are funded within existing pay bill controls, have to be re-earned each year against the pre-determined criteria above and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs.
	The annual size of the non-consolidated performance pay pot for the SCS is based on recommendations by the independent Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB).
	Staff in grades below the SCS (Al and below) are eligible for a non-consolidated performance award. Awards are intended to reward both the delivery of personal business objectives during the reporting year and demonstration of DfID's values.
	Non-consolidated performance related payments for all staff are paid at the year end. DfID does not operate a special bonus scheme.
	The three tables below show by Civil Service band; the number of staff eligible for a non-consolidated performance payment; the number of staff who received a non-consolidated performance payment; the median payment; and the maximum payment.
	
		
			 Financial Year: 2007-081 
			 Grade No. of staff eligible for non-consolidated performance payments No. of staff who received non-consolidated performance payments Average (median) payment (£) Maximum payment (£) 
			 Director General 2 * * * * 
			 Director 12 9 £5,750 £12,500 
			 Deputy Director 73 52 £5,750 £12,500 
			 A1 (G6) 238 131 £365 £1,150 
			 A2(G7) 426 250 £365 £1,150 
			 A2(L) (SEO) 142 100 £365 £1 150 
			 B1 (HEO) 272 168 £365 £725 
			 B2(EO) 264 171 £365 £725 
			 C1(AO) 231 134 £365 £520 
			 C2 (AA) 30 13 £365 £520 
		
	
	
		
			 Financial Year:2008-091 
			 Grade No. of staff eligible for non-consolidated performance payments3 No. of staff who received non-consolidated performance payments Average (median) payment (£) Maximum payment (£) 
			 Director General2 * * * * 
			 Director 14 10 £8,282 £20,685 
			 Deputy Director 80 59 £6,350 £14,612 
			 A1 (G6) 0 0 £0 £0 
			 A2 (G7) 0 0 £0 £0 
			 A2(L) (SEO) 0 0 £0 £0 
			 B1 (HEO) 0 0 £0 £0 
			 B2 (EO) 0 0 £0 £0 
			 C1 (AO) 0 0 £0 £0 
			 C2 (AA) 0 0 £0 £0 
		
	
	
		
			 Financial Year: 2009-101 
			 Grade No. of staff eligible for non-consolidated performance payments No. of staff who received non-consolidated performance payments Average (median) payment (£) Maximum payment (£) 
			 Director General 2 * * * * 
			 Director 14 10 £7,003 £12,500 
			 Deputy Director 79 54 £5,497 £10,000 
			 A1(G6) 238 181 £495 £750 
			 A2(G7) 433 359 £495 £750 
			 A2(L) (SEO) 128 73 £495 £750 
			 B1(HEO) 245 183 £495 £750 
			 B2(EO) 238 189 £495 £750 
			 C1(AO) 198 167 £495 £750 
			 C2(AA) 30 23 £495 £750 
		
	
	1 Payments made are for the financial year indicated but relate to performance achieved in the previous reporting year.
	2 Information not provided on grounds of confidentiality (less than five members of staff).
	3 DfID did not operate a non-consolidated reward scheme for staff below the SCS.

Government: Office Equipment

Lord Bates: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Barbara Follett, on 9 December 2009 (HC Deb, col. 390W), what was the average purchase price, excluding value added tax, of a 500 sheet ream of white A4 80 gsm photocopier paper paid by (a) the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and (b) the Government Equalities Office, in the latest period for which figures are available.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The current purchase price for a 500-sheet ream of white A4 80 gsm photocopier paper paid by (a) the Equality and Human Rights Commission was £1.96 and (b) the Government Equalities Office was £2.17.

Greece

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the United Kingdom would be required, although not a member of the eurozone, to make a financial contribution to any financial rescue of Greece and any other member country of the eurozone; and, if so, why.

Lord Myners: Membership of the European Union does not impose any obligation on the UK to contribute to any financial rescue, or accept the debt obligations, of any EU member state. There has been no request for UK support. Any such requests are considered on their individual merits.

Health: Expenditure

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government what the National Health Service and Department of Health combined expenditure was on (a) pharmaceuticals, and (b) influenza and other vaccines, in cash and real terms in (1) 1996-97, (2) 2003-04, (3) 2005-06 and (4) 2008-09; and what the estimated expenditure is in 2009-10 for those items.

Baroness Thornton: Pharmaceuticals (drugs) expenditure includes National Health Service expenditure in primary care and the Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS). The primary care expenditure reflects amounts paid to pharmacy and appliance contractors and amounts authorised for dispensing doctors and personal administration in England. This includes expenditure on the seasonal influenza and adult pneumococcal vaccines, which are procured and administered by general practitioners and other contractors.
	Table 1 provides details of NHS expenditure on drugs in cash and real terms (2008-09 base year).
	
		
			 Table 1: NHS expenditure on drugs 
			 £ million NHS drugs expenditure  
			 Year Cash Real Terms 
			 1996-97 4,735 6,323 
			 2003-04 9,271 10,541 
			 2005-06 9,979 10,837 
			 2008-09 11,378 11,378 
			 2009-10 (April to September primary care) 3,796 3,722 
		
	
	Sources:
	Prescription Pricing Division of the NHS Business Services Authority, England, Department of Health Finance Division, Foundation Trust year-end accounts.
	Notes:
	1. Government accounting policy changed in 2000-01; as a result, figures prior to 2000-01 are not strictly comparable to figures thereafter. Expenditure prior to 2000-01 represents the amounts paid between April to March for medicines and appliances and relate to prescriptions dispensed between March and February. This is due to the delay in prescription processing and payment calculations. From 2000-01, figures represent the actual cost of the prescriptions for medicines and appliances dispensed in the period April to March.
	2. Year-to-date primary care figures have been provided for 2009-10. We do not have HCHS figures, which are sourced from accounts information available at year-end only. Primary care drugs expenditure is approximately 70 per cent of total NHS drugs expenditure.
	3. Real-term calculation uses GDP deflator series at January 2010, 2008-09 = 100.
	Additionally, the department provides centrally purchased vaccines for the NHS routine childhood immunisation programme and catch up programmes, vaccines against anthrax, rabies, smallpox, and the swine influenza vaccination programme 2009-10. The department is not able to divulge expenditure on swine influenza vaccine as it would violate confidentiality clauses in the contracts with the manufacturers. The available information about the department's expenditure on vaccines for England (not including swine influenza vaccine) is given in Table 2 in cash and real terms (2008-09 base year).
	
		
			 Table 2: Department of Health expenditure on vaccines 
			 £ million Vaccines  
			 Year Cash Real Terms 
			 1996-97 - - 
			 2003-04 88 101 
			 2005-06 107 116 
			 2008-09 229 229 
			 2009-10 (April to December) 160 157 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Where relevant, figures for England have been calculated as 84 per cent. of expenditure on vaccines for the United Kingdom. Childhood vaccines and smallpox vaccine are purchased for the UK. Anthrax and rabies vaccines are purchased for England and Wales.
	2. Year-to-date figures to December 2009 have been supplied for 2009-10.
	3. Real-term calculation uses GDP deflator series at January 2010, 2008-09 = 100.
	The vaccines provided for NHS programmes have changed over the period of time shown in the table. For example, the higher level of expenditure in 2008-09 partly reflects the addition of human papillomavirus vaccination against cervical cancer.
	Information about vaccine expenditure in 1996-97 is not available. It has not been possible to confirm whether or not records of vaccine expenditure for 1996-97 have been retained centrally by the department and there is no obligation for such records of this age to be retained.

Health: Expenditure

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was spent on public health and health promotion combined in (a) 1996-97, and (b) 2008-09, in cash and real terms.

Baroness Thornton: The department does not collect detailed expenditure information in these areas since, subject to delivering national targets, there is local discretion on how the funding is spent. However, for public health and prevention, a report by Health England shows (mostly using end of year information) expenditure in England on public health and prevention for 2006-07. See Table 3 in the Report: Health England Report No 4. Public Health and Prevention Expenditure in England 2009, which is available from: http://healthengland.org/health_england_publications.htm.
	Table 3 in that report is replicated here as follows, entitled Table 1, and provides a breakdown of spending based as closely as possible on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) definitions
	
		
			 Table 1: Detailed Prevention Expenditure in England 2006-07 
			  Primary prevention Secondary prevention   Total £m 
			   Screening Other Medication  
			 Total prevention and public health services 1,771 1,482 482 1,337 5,072 
			 Maternal and child health; family planning and counselling 840 21 0 0 861 
			 Maternity services 618618 
			 Family Planning Clinics 101101 
			 Contraceptives 6666 
			 Health Visiting Group Services 5353 
			 Neonatal audiological screening  14   14 
			 Quality and Outcomes Framework (1) 2 6   9 
			 School health services 44 0 115 0 159 
			 School-based Children's Individual Health Services   115  115 
			 School-based Children's Group Health Services 2727 
			 Healthy Schools Programme (2) 1717 
			 Prevention of communicable diseases 284 0 0 0 284 
			 Immunisation (2) 238238 
			 Other infectious diseases (2) 2424 
			 Quality and Outcomes Framework 1919 
			 Reducing MRSA incidence (2) 33 
			 Prevention of non-communicable diseases 206 1,461 348 1,337 3,352 
			 Pharmaceuticals1,337 1,337 
			 Dental check-ups  937   937 
			 Quality and Outcomes Framework 28 41 348  417 
			 Screening programmes  275   275 
			 Sight tests  208   208 
			 Obesity/diet/lifestyle 116116 
			 NHS Stop Smoking Services 5656 
			 NICE Public Health Guidelines 44 
			 CJD surveillance (2) 22 
			 Occupational health care 4 0 0 0 4 
			 Occupational Health for Dentists 44 
			 Quality and Outcomes Framework 11 
			 All other miscellaneous public health services (1) 394 0 19 0 412 
			 Health Protection Agency 248248 
			 NHS Blood and Transplant (2) 5353 
			 Publicity for prevention activities 3434 
			 Charitable expenditure on prevention 3333 
			 National Biological Standards Board 2525 
			 Public Health in Prisons (2)   19  19 
		
	
	Source:
	Health Inequalities and Partnership, DH (Health England Report No 4. Public Health and Prevention Expenditure in England 2009)
	Notes:
	1. Figures may not sum due to rounding
	2. Refers to expenditure from the central budget, data available only for 2006-07
	The expenditure on pharmaceuticals is included as its primary aim is prevention. Nevertheless, strictly, expenditure on pharmaceuticals is not included in the OECD prevention and public health category. Hence, for comparison with other countries using OECD data, these medication figures should be excluded. Excluding pharmaceuticals in line with OECD methodology gives a total expenditure on public health and prevention of £3.7 billion. If pharmaceuticals were included, the overall total for 2006-07 would be £5 billion.
	Total health expenditure for England for the same period was approximately £93.5 billion. This suggests that about 4 per cent of health expenditure is directed towards prevention (using the figure without pharmaceuticals and without health-related expenditure, so that this can be compared with other OECD countries). This share indicates that England is above the average of other OECD countries, where prevention was only 2.8 per cent of total health spending in the same period.
	A decade ago, the share of total health spending going to prevention and public health stood at only 1.8 per cent in the United Kingdom, which was below the OECD average at that time.

Health: Expenditure

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government what the expenditure was on adult social care in cash and real terms in each year from 1996-97 to 2008-09 inclusive; what the percentage increase was in real terms in each year; what was the real terms increase in NHS expenditure in each of those years; and what adult social care expenditure was in each of those years as a percentage of NHS expenditure.

Baroness Thornton: Table 1 shows the total gross current expenditure on social services for adults aged 18 and over in England for the period 1996-97 to 2008-09, in both cash and real terms.
	Table 2 shows the real terms increase in National Health Service expenditure in England for the period 1996-97 to 2008-09.
	Table 3 compares the difference in spend between adult social care and the NHS by showing the percentage of adult social care expenditure of NHS expenditure for the period 1996-97 to 2008-09.
	
		
			 Table 1: Gross Current Expenditure 1, 2 on Social Services for Adults aged 18 and over, 1996-97 to 2008-09 
			 England   £ millions and percentage 
			  Gross Current Expenditure (Cash) Gross Current Expenditure (Real Terms3) Percentage increase (Real Terms3) 
			 1996-97 7,049 9,414  
			 1997-98 7,609 9,902 5 
			 1998-99 8,196 10,447 6 
			 1999-2000 8,928 11,160 7 
			 2000-014 9,628 11,878 6 
			 2001-02 10,106 12,197 3 
			 2002-035 11,312 13,224 8 
			 2003-046 12,480 14,190 7 
			 2004-05 13,492 14,927 5 
			 2005-06 14,345 15,578 4 
			 2006-07 14,893 15,710 1 
			 2007-08 15,275 15,660 0 
			 2008-097 16,066 16,066 3 
			PSS Ex1 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Gross current expenditure includes income from client contributions but excludes certain income items which count as expenditure from elsewhere in the public sector, such as contributions from primary care trusts (PCTs). This is to avoid double counting within the aggregate public sector accounts of the money involved.
	2. 1996-97 to 2006-07 figures include estimated Service Strategy and Asylum Seekers Assessment and Care Management apportioned to Adult Services and Children and Families Services using proportions calculated using 2007-08 data. From 2007-08 this information was collected separately.
	3. Real term figures have been converted from cash terms using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator.
	4. From the 2000-01 financial year, the PSS EX1 replaced the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Actuals return, which was discontinued after 1999-2000.
	5. The figures from 2002-03 include the cost of residential and nursing placements for adults and older people with Preserved Rights; councils took over responsibilities for those people in April 2002.
	6. Expenditure funded from the Supporting People (SP) grant that councils have classified as social services expenditure rather than housing expenditure was introduced from 2003-04 onwards.
	7. Data for 2008-09 are provisional. Final data for 2008-09 are expected to be published by the NHS Information Centre in April 2010.
	
		
			 Table 2 - Total Net NHS Expenditure in England, 1996-97 to 2008-09 
			 Year  Net NHS Expenditure (4) £ billion % increase % real terms increase (7) 
			 1996-97 Outturn 32.997 3.2 -0.5 
			 1997-98 Outturn 34.664 5.1 2.4 
			 1998-99 Outturn 36.608 5.6 3.4 
			 1999-2000 Outturn 39.881 8.9 6.8 
			 Resource Budgeting Stage 1(2) 
			 1999-2000 Outturn 40.201 - - 
			 2000-01 Outturn 43.932 9.3 7.9 
			 2001-02 Outturn 49.021 11.6 9.1 
			 2002-03 Outturn 54.042 10.2 6.8 
			 Resource Budgeting Stage 2(3)(5) 
			 2003-04 Outturn 64.173 - - 
			 2004-05 Outturn 69.051 7.6 4.7 
			 2005-06 Outturn 75.822 9.8 7.8 
			 2006-07 Outturn 80.561 6.3 3.2 
			 2007-08 Outturn 89.261 10.8 7.7 
			 2008-09 Estimated Outturn 94.522 5.9 3.3 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Expenditure pre 1999-2000 is on a cash basis
	2.Expenditure figures from 1999-2000 to 2002-03 are on a Stage 1 Resource Budgeting basis
	3.Expenditure figures from 2003-04 to 2010-11 are on a Stage 2 Resource Budgeting basis
	4.Figures are not consistent over the period (1971-72 to 2010-11), therefore it is difficult to make comparisons across different periods
	5. Figures from 2003-04 include a technical adjustment for trust depreciation
	6. Expenditure excludes NHS (AME)
	7. GDP deflator 4 January 2010
	8. Total expenditure is calculated as the sum of revenue and capital expenditure net of non-trust depreciation and impairments. This is in line with HMT Guidance
	
		
			 Table 3 - What adult social care expenditure was in each of those years as a percentage of NHS expenditure 
			  Proportion of Spend % (1) 
			 1996-97 22% 
			 1997-98 23% 
			 1998-99 23% 
			 1999-2000 23% 
			 2000-014 23% 
			 2001-02 21% 
			 2002-035 22% 
			 2003-046 20% 
			 2004-05 20% 
			 2005-06 19% 
			 2006-07 19% 
			 2007-08 18% 
			 2008-097 18% 
		
	
	Note:
	(1) This proportion is based on gross current personal social services expenditure (cash) as shown in table 1, of total net NHS expenditure as shown in table 2.

Health: Kidney Disease

Earl Howe: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to publicise the availability of home-based kidney dialysis from the National Health Service and to encourage informed choice for kidney dialysis patients as to the location and the manner in which they may be dialysed.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative costs and benefits to the National Health Service and the wider economy of hospital-based and home-based kidney dialysis.

Baroness Thornton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published technology appraisal guidance-Guidance on home compared with hospital haemodialysis for patients with end-stage renal failure-in September 2002. This recommended that all suitable patients should be offered the choice between home haemodialysis or haemodialysis in a hospital/satellite unit. The department is currently considering how to extend patient choice for people on dialysis.
	In addition, the improvement organisation, NHS Kidney Care, has recently published a specification for the commissioning of peritoneal dialysis as a comprehensive guide to best practice, offering greater choice and flexibility for patients.

Immigration: Asylum Support Office

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to establish the new European Asylum Support Office approved by the European Council last autumn.

Lord West of Spithead: The setting up of the European Asylum Support Office will fall initially to the European Commission, but the Government will co-operate closely with the Commission to ensure that the office is able to start work in its host country of Malta as soon as possible.

Immigration: FRONTEX

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the new Frontex plans for regular use of chartered joint return air flights for extraditions to be functioning.

Lord West of Spithead: There are no arrangements in place for Frontex to use chartered joint return flights for extradition purposes, nor are there any plans to do so.

Immigration: Tinsley House

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have modified the education provision for children at Tinsley House immigration removal centre since HM Chief Inspector of Prisons noted it was "inadequate".

Lord West of Spithead: As we are not currently holding children at Tinsley House for more than 24 hours, planned education provided by a trained teacher is neither appropriate nor practicable.
	Where children are to be held for longer than 24 hours, they are transferred to Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre, where comprehensive education provision is available for children of all ages, delivered by qualified nursery nurses and teachers.

India: Orissa

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Department for International Development is supporting projects in the Kandhamal districts of Orissa State; and, if not, where their nearest project which is benefiting members of all faiths is operating.

Lord Brett: The Department for International Development (DfID) is providing £10 million for community development in four districts of Orissa, including Kandhamal. The Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihoods Programme (OTELP) which runs from 2004-10, aims to increase incomes, reduce malnutrition and improve water and sanitation for over 375,000 tribal men and women of all faiths.

Insolvency: Football Clubs

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government which professional and semi-professional football clubs have been issued with petitions for insolvency by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in each of the past 10 years; and what was the outcome in each case.

Lord Myners: HM Revenue and Customs is under a strict, statutory duty of confidentiality and cannot comment on the tax affairs of individual businesses.

Kenya

Lord Steel of Aikwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following reports by the World Bank, all Department for International Development resources pledged to assist primary education in Kenya have been fully accounted for.

Lord Brett: A recent Kenyan Ministry of Finance internal audit report, supported by the World Bank, provided evidence of the misappropriation of both Government and donor funds totalling over Ksh 100 million (£800,000) in the month of June 2009.
	Department for International Development (DfID) resources for education in Kenya (primary and secondary) have been frozen since these allegations, pending a satisfactory response by the Government of Kenya. This would need to include the reimbursement to donors of all funds lost through fraud if the allegations are found to be correct.

NHS: Race and Equality

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Equality and Human Rights Commission or its predecessor bodies in recent years initiated investigations into alleged or actual discriminatory activities by the National Health Service; if so, when those investigations commenced; when any were discontinued; and why.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has initiated investigations into the NHS for breaches of the equality duties. The commission's predecessor bodies, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Disability Rights Commission, had published investigations into the Department of Health shortly before their closure regarding compliance with the race equality duty and fitness standards, respectively. With regards to the fitness standards, some follow-up work was undertaken by the EHRC.
	The commission had decided initially to undertake a formal assessment under Section 31 of the Equality Act 2006 of the Department of Health's compliance with the public sector duties, but has since held discussions with the department about reaching an agreement on this matter, the details of which are still under negotiation.
	As for cases that have been discontinued, the commission is prevented from disclosing information on reasons why they were discontinued under Section 6 of the Equality Act 2006.

Northern Ireland Office: Equal Pay

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether staff in the Northern Ireland Office will be eligible for compensation under the proposed equal pay settlement in the Northern Ireland Civil Service; if so, what is their estimate of the cost; whether the compensation will be taxable; and from what source funding for the settlement will come.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The equal pay settlement for staff in the Northern Ireland Civil Service department does not apply to staff in the Northern Ireland Office (NIO).
	The Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance has indicated that it would like to discuss this matter with NIO management and a meeting has been arranged. The NIO has its own pay and grading arrangements and does not accept that there are similar equal pay issues to be addressed in the department. This will of course be a matter for discussion with the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance.

Northern Ireland: Justice

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 14 December 2009 (WA 184), when they instructed the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland and the Crown Prosecution Service not to pursue outstanding extradition proceedings against convicted fugitives appearing to qualify for early release under the terms of the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998; by what means they issued those instructions; and whether the policy was subjected to an equality impact assessment in Northern Ireland.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: Neither the Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland nor the Crown Prosecution Service has any role in respect of the extradition of individuals who have already been convicted, whether or not they would appear to qualify for early release under the terms of the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998.
	The general policy on extradition requests was subject to equality screening as part of the Northern Ireland Office's initial screening of policies following its designation as a public authority under Section 75. This screening found that no impact assessment was necessary. The decision not to pursue the extradition of convicted fugitives appearing to qualify for early release involved consideration of the public interest in relation to a limited number of specific cases and was not subject to an equality impact assessment.

Official Secrets Acts

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what advisory committees covered by the Official Secrets Acts there are in the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs; who are the members of each such committee; and why they are required.

Lord Davies of Oldham: None of Defra's advisory bodies is explicitly identified in the Official Secrets Act legislation.
	Were Defra's advisory NDPBs to handle information on security and intelligence, defence or international relations then that advisory body's members would be bound by the provisions of the Official Secrets Act 1989, as these apply whenever office-holders handle those categories of official information.

Official Secrets Acts

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what advisory committees covered by the Official Secrets Acts there are in the Northern Ireland Office; who are the members of each such committee; and why they are required.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Northern Ireland Office does not sponsor any advisory committees covered by the Official Secrets Act.

Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what reports they have received from the World Bank concerning the development of economic enclaves in the occupied West Bank of Palestine.

Lord Brett: We have received no reports from the World Bank specifically addressing the development of economic enclaves in the West Bank. The World Bank has, however, produced a number of reports assessing the impact of Israeli movement and access restrictions on economic development in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Full details of these reports are available on the World Bank website (www.worldbank .org).

Prisoners: Rights

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is any law whereby prisoners may be obliged to wear identity cards or an arm-band; if not, why the practice is carried out in HM Prison Wakefield; and what assessment they have made of the effect of the practice on prisoners' rights to exercise and to attend religious services.

Lord Bach: There is no legal requirement for prisoners to wear identity cards. However, prisoners at Wakefield high-security prison and some other prisons are issued with identity cards. Prisoners at Wakefield, when leaving their residential unit, are expected to display the identity card on the outer layer of clothing using an armband. This enables staff throughout the prison to readily identify any prisoner. For security reasons, where a prisoner declines to wear his identity card he will not be permitted to leave his residential unit.

Railways: Corby

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made as to the use being made of the new railway station at Corby; and how the level of use differs from that which was forecast before the station was built.

Lord Adonis: The Department for Transport is currently reviewing station usage against that which was originally forecast for the 40 stations that have opened in England, Scotland and Wales over the past 10 years. This includes Corby station which opened on 23 February 2009. The study will be reporting in April 2010.

Railways: France

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the impact of the Government of France's new tax on rail passenger vehicles operating in France but not registered in France, coupled with a partial abolition of an asset-based tax applicable to vehicles registered in France, on the ability of United Kingdom operators to introduce competitive open access services in France; and, if so, whether they will make representations to the Government of France and the European Union regarding this development.

Lord Adonis: We estimate the impact on the wider Eurostar business to be in the region of €7 million per annum. We have not made any assessment of the impact on other specific operations. The proposed taxe sur le material roulant needs to be seen in the context of a wider restructuring by the French Government of taxe professionnelle and the introduction of other carbon taxes. Nevertheless the UK Government are concerned about the potential burden this tax represents on a green form of transport at a time when we and our European partners are seeking to grow and develop international rail markets and competition. I have written to the French Government to convey these concerns. The UK, along with a number of other member states, has also made representations to the European Commission.

Railways: Rolling Stock

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in providing 1,300 additional carriages for the railway system by March 2014, as stated in the high-level output statement; and whether that figure has been adjusted to allow for the growth in passenger traffic.

Lord Adonis: I refer the noble Lord to my Written Statement of 14 December 2009 (Official Report, cols. WS 213-4).

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are considering amending the renewable transport fuel obligation to lessen the effect of deforestation on sensitive rainforests.

Lord Adonis: The Department for Transport is currently in the process of amending the renewable transport fuel obligation to incorporate the mandatory sustainability requirements set out in the renewable energy directive. Following these changes, biofuels will only be awarded a certificate if suppliers can demonstrate that the biofuels they supply achieve at least 35 per cent greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and also that they did not either come from converting high-carbon stock land, including forests, or have other negative environmental impacts, including upon biodiversity.

Royal Mail: Bicycles

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Royal Mail has considered investing in freight bicycles to enable cycling postal workers to carry more weight; if so, what conclusions were reached; and for what reasons.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: Decisions regarding its delivery operations are matters which are the direct responsibility of Royal Mail's senior management team.
	I have therefore asked the chief executive of Royal Mail, Adam Crozier, to respond directly to my noble friend and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library of the House.

Royal Mail: Bicycles

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment Royal Mail has made of the effects on health, road safety and the environment that would arise from its plan to switch deliveries from bicycles to vans.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: Decisions regarding its delivery operations are matters which are the direct responsibility of Royal Mail's senior management team.
	I have therefore asked the chief executive of Royal Mail, Adam Crozier, to respond directly to my noble friend and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library of the House.

Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the 35 per cent reduction in the grant to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents for 2010-11.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: We value the partnership that we have with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and the work that it does to provide advice and help to people to make their lives safer. The £166,050 grant in 2009-10 from BIS represents only a small proportion of the total funding that RoSPA receives from government.
	Given the current pressures on the public finances, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has to take difficult decisions on the programmes that it continues to support, and needs to ensure that work supported is aligned with the department's priorities.
	Safety in the home is now part of the work carried out by other government departments-for example, the Department for Children, Schools and Families-and the £18 million Safe at Home scheme is run by RoSPA and targets support for vulnerable families.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has worked closely with RosPA over the past months to see where its expertise might better match the needs of the department but the evidence is not there to justify continuing the grant at its previous level. We will be meeting with RosPA shortly to discuss the detail of its 2010-11 work programme.

Schools: Teachers

Baroness Verma: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action is being taken to recruit more science, technology, engineering and mathematics teachers in primary schools.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: Teachers are recruited directly by schools and local authorities according to their needs, but the Government specify the content of initial teacher training, and for this all primary trainees must have a grade C or above in GCSE (or equivalent) in mathematics, science and English. Primary school teachers are trained to teach across the whole range of curriculum subjects rather than as specialists, but before they can qualify they must have gained, or already have, a first degree (or equivalent) and have passed professional skills tests in numeracy, literacy and information technology.
	Although teachers are not given initial training to be science specialists, this department is encouraging greater use of practical work and other enhancement and enrichment activities in science lessons in both primary and secondary schools. As part of this, the Association for Science Education has been contracted to run a support programme to improve the use of practical work in science in schools.
	To meet the Williams review recommendation that every primary school should have access to a mathematics specialist teacher to champion maths and act as the nucleus for achieving best pedagogical practice, there is now a two-year professional development programme for current primary teachers to develop their subject knowledge, subject-specific pedagogy and ability to mentor and coach colleagues. As well as their generalist teaching duties, mathematics specialist teachers work with colleagues to improve mathematics teaching across the school and increase pupil engagement, confidence and achievement in mathematics. The first cohort of the programme began in January 2010.

Swine Flu

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the cost to date of immunisation against the spread of swine flu; what estimate they have of recovery of funding from the sale or return of unused vaccines; how many people died from the disease in the last year; how many died from other influenzas in the same period; and whether they received any epidemiological advice contrary to that which was followed.

Baroness Thornton: We are not able to give details of the cost of the swine flu vaccine due to confidentiality clauses in our contracts with the manufacturers. We are unable to return vaccines that have already been delivered. The options for handling the anticipated surplus of vaccine are currently being explored with the manufacturers. We will be seeking to minimise the overall cost to the British taxpayer.
	The Chief Medical Officer has carried out a confidential investigation of swine flu-related deaths since the pandemic began. As of 21 January 2010, there had been 279 swine flu-related deaths in England. There has been no significant circulation of seasonal influenza in England in this same period.
	The Health Protection Agency has a long-term established system to monitor excess deaths (deaths in excess of what would normally be expected for the time of year) based on data from the Office for National Statistics. Influenza is one important contributory factor to excess deaths each year. In the period April to December 2009, no excess mortality has been observed.
	Throughout the swine flu pandemic, we have been advised by a wide range of experts from all relevant disciplines. Our decisions have been based on the information we had about swine flu; at the beginning there was very little information available but our knowledge about the disease has increased with time. The epidemiological advice we followed reflected the consensus view of the scientists who provided that advice.

Swine and Avian Flu

Lord Willoughby de Broke: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the Chief Medical Officer's forecast of the number of deaths from swine flu; and how many deaths to date are attributable solely to swine flu.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the Chief Medical Officer's forecast of the number of deaths from bird flu; and how many deaths to date are attributable solely to bird flu.

Baroness Thornton: The department has never made forecasts of the number of deaths from swine flu or avian flu. Planning assumptions about a pandemic's course were used to inform preparedness planning, recognising that the precise characteristics and impact of a pandemic flu virus would only become apparent as the virus emerged.
	The national framework for pandemic flu (Pandemic flu: a national framework for responding to an influenza pandemic) has already been placed in the Library and can be found at:
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_080734
	It was published in 2007 and set out a number of assumptions for planning purposes which gave a range of possible scenarios. These assumptions were for an influenza pandemic of any kind, including the potential for a human virus evolved from current avian flu.
	The department and Cabinet Office issued revised guidance to planners as information about the characteristics of swine flu became available. The assumptions were revised as more information became available and regular updates were issued to ensure United Kingdom planners were equipped with the most up-to-date information. We have been clear that the planning assumptions have never been a prediction of what would happen; they simply set out the reasonable worst-case scenario for planning purposes.
	The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) was not involved in drawing up the figures given in the planning assumptions, which were based on the advice of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.
	The CMO has carried out a confidential investigation of swine flu-related deaths since the pandemic began. As of 21 January 2010, there had been 279 swine flu-related deaths in England. Of these, approximately 20 per cent had no pre-existing diseases or underlying medical conditions.
	Further detail is available in a report in the British Medical Journal, "Donaldson U, Rutter PD, Ellis BM, Greaves FEC, Mytton OT, Pebody RG and Yardley IE. Mortality from pandemic A/H1N1 2009 influenza in England: public health surveillance study. BMJ 2009;339 b5213."

UNICEF

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the new UNICEF Strategy will benefit children living or working on the street.

Lord Brett: The Department for International Development's (fID's) new three-year institutional strategy with UNICEF supports the implementation of UNICEF's own medium-term strategic plan. We want to support UNICEF's work for all vulnerable children including street children. UNICEF's plan includes work on the protection of children from violence, exploitation and abuse. This includes collecting and analysing data to improve understanding of the conditions of marginalised and vulnerable groups, and also work to ensure the views of children are captured in the policies and programmes that affect their lives.

UNICEF

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to recommendations by non-governmental organisations and the International Development Committee that specific street children indicators should be adopted in the new UNICEF strategy; and what representations they made to UNICEF about the recommendations.

Lord Brett: The Department for International Development (DfID) is committed to reducing child poverty and reaching particularly vulnerable groups of children.
	In developing our new institutional strategy with UNICEF, our concern was to support UNICEF's work for all vulnerable children, including street children. DfID does not have a specific policy focus on street children above other vulnerable children. Children usually live on the streets because of poverty in their communities and therefore our priority is reducing child poverty.
	Our approach is to draw on UN agencies' own targets and commitments wherever possible. UNICEF does not have a specific target in its strategic plan on street children. However, our UNICEF strategy target on vulnerable children provides an opportunity to raise street children in our policy discussions with UNICEF.

Working Time Directive

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the European Commission is considering ending the opt-out from the working time directive; and what their estimate is of the cost to the United Kingdom's economy and the effect on personal incomes if the opt-out is ended.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: Loss of the individual's right to opt-out of the 48-hour maximum working week (as set out in the working time directive) would cost billions in terms of lost pay to individuals, which is one reason why this Government would not support the end of the opt-out. Over 3 million employees choose to make use of this flexibility and we believe that it is right that they should be able to do so if they wish, provided the choice is voluntary.
	There is no Commission proposal to remove the opt-out.
	We have always accepted, however, that other issues on the directive remain since the negotiations failed, in particular the need to address two ECJ judgments on treatment of residential on-call time and compensatory rest that continue to cause problems for many member states. We would be happy to engage with new Commission ideas on those issues but our view on the opt-out has not changed.